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	St. Paul Lawyer Sues Pope, Vatican in Murphy Case By Bob Von Sternberg Minneapolis Star Tribune April 22, 2010 http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/91829284.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU The federal lawsuit puts the onus back on the church to take action against abusive clergy. Less than 24 hours after Pope Benedict pledged that the Vatican would take action against priests who sexually abused minors, the issue was dumped back in his lap. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the pope and other senior Vatican officials are accused of covering up at least 200 cases of child sexual abuse by a Wisconsin priest. St. Paul lawyer Jeff Anderson filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee on behalf of an Illinois man who says he was molested by the late Rev. Joseph Murphy, accused of molesting at least 200 children at a suburban Milwaukee school for the deaf. The suit contends that the Vatican and its hierarchy were "well aware of the centuries-old practice of childhood sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests and clerics," noting that the church condemned sexual abuse of children by clergy in the fourth century. The announcement drew a conclave of media to Anderson's office in downtown St. Paul, including a crew from Italian public television. Reporters from CNN, ABC, Agence France-Presse, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Swiss radio and a Canadian online news agency watched and submitted questions online, as did people from law firms and law schools nationwide. The Vatican called the suit a publicity stunt. A statement released by the Vatican's U.S. attorney, Jeffrey Lena, said that most of the complaint is without merit and rehashes theories already rejected by U.S. courts. Bob Schwiderski, director of the Minnesota chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), compared the public maneuvering to a poker game. The Vatican raised the ante, and victims responded by re-raising, he said. "The survivors and their supporters called the Vatican's bluff," he said. "For me, [the pope's announcement] was just words. All we've been having for years are words. It's time for action."
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